GAME REVIEWS

$69.95 | PC, PS4, Switch | bit.ly/31SUyoX

Spacebase Startopia

Manage a space station fuelled by nostalgia.

Realmforge Studios’ Spacebase Startopia is a homage to one of my favourite management games. More than an homage, really, as it lifts pretty much everything from the original Startopia, even the name – it’s more like an unofficial remake. After two decades of waiting, I should be happy to return to my donut-shaped space station, but instead I’m conflicted. Hewing so closely to the original also emphasises the ways in which it misses the mark, and some of the new additions leave a lot to be desired.

Thankfully, Spacebase Startopia is still capable of being charismatic, full as it is with aliens and sci-fi oddities. Sometimes I’ll even follow my diligent little droids around as they travel all over the station delivering crates and cleaning up after the dirty organics. Even the bins have a bit of personality, as they’re actually robots who drop off their gross cargo at the recycler once the droids have filled them up. They have very serious faces and I love them.

With your station teeming with life, the three-level system proves to be a boon. The donut is split into sections, separated by bulkheads that can be opened for a fee, and three specialised decks. There’s the sub